


Night Watch meta: Vetinari & Vimes

by Dats_der_bunny



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: Book: Night Watch (Discworld), Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dats_der_bunny/pseuds/Dats_der_bunny
Summary: I have a little habit of posting long metas on Tumblr, so I thought I'd try putting this one on here to see if there's any interest. This one is about the conversation between Vetinari and Vimes at the end of Night Watch, and Vetinari's relationship with Vimes in canon.
Relationships: Havelock Vetinari & Samuel Vimes
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	Night Watch meta: Vetinari & Vimes

Just been thinking about the end of Night Watch.

We know that Vetinari still visits the cemetery in Small Gods every year:

> _“Like you, I prefer to come alone and... contemplate.”_

That says a lot to me about the impact it had on the young Vetinari. Wearing the lilac flower every year is an incredibly bold political statement, especially when you consider that everything else about him is pretty understated (when he isn’t busy juggling melons). But Vetinari committing the time to visit the cemetery every year to reflect on what happened all those years ago... I think that’s a pretty big deal, personally.

And there’s something else that has only just occurred to me too:

> “ _I could give you back Treacle Mine Road._ ”

Only now has it properly sunk in just how vividly Vetinari must remember the events of the Glorious Revolution, even after more than 30 years, in order to make an offer like that in the first place. And Vimes is actually a pretty private person when it comes to his feelings, if you look beyond the “going spare”, (with or without precision), so it really struck me just how well Vetinari actually knows Vimes at this point, to recognise the sentimental value that place still holds for him.

And it’s important to remember that Vetinari could have rebuilt the Watch House at any point. But he chose to do it in that time, in that place, after Vimes’s pretty horrific ordeal and “on the occasion of the birth of” his son. For what it’s worth, I think he really does have a soft spot for Vimes, and he does care about him a hell of a lot (whether that’s platonically or romantically), although he just shows it in a very Vetinari kind of way.

And when you realise that, this last quote I’ve been thinking about hurts even more:

> _“Well, then,” said Vetinari, “afterwards, we could-”_

> _“Afterwards I’m going home to my family for a while,” said Vimes._

> _“Good! Well said,” said Vetinari, not missing a beat._

I don’t know how to interpret that, to be honest, but Vetinari has kind of been left on the outside, looking in. And that’s pretty sad.

Having said that, their relationship goes through a pretty big change between Night Watch and Thud! and they seem to suddenly understand each other so much better. So it’s not all doom and gloom.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, I could be waaaaaay off the mark with some of these interpretations, but I just love talking about this stuff. Thanks for reading!


End file.
